Merritt Island and Daytona Eagles
On Sunday we went to Merritt Island NWR. The sun wasn’t out, but it didn’t rain and there were a lot of Spoonbills along with many other birds. After going through Blackpoint Drive, we headed up to Daytona to visit an Eagles nest there. They have at least 1, possibly 2 Eaglettes that they were feeding. They’re still too small to get a good view but that will change in a couple of weeks.
Blackpoint Drive
Very close to the road leading to Blackpoint Dr were some White Pelicans floating around
Roseate Spoonbills lined up eating breakfast
Roseate Spoonbill flying in with a lot of other birds in a group
Roseate Spoonbill doing some preening
Little Blue Heron coming in for a landing in the shallow water
Roseate Spoonbill making a very close flyby
Spoonbills in a feeding frenzy
The Kingfisher was sitting on the top of the tree when the Tricolored Heron flew up. The Kingfisher wasn’t having it and took off
Kingfisher watching the day get brighter
Time for the Kingfisher to start the day
Male Blue Winged Teal duck flying past
This Sora was walking around in the shadows of the mangroves
Great Blue Heron in a nice spot
White Pelicans landing
White Pelican racing some other birds to a new feeding spot
Wood Stork taking a break on top of a mangrove
There were 3 different woodpeckers in the same area… This one is a Northern Flicker
… this one is a Pileated Woodpecker
… and finally, a Red Bellied Woodpecker
There were a lot of these Yellow Romped Warblers flying quickly in and out of the mangroves
Reddish Egret checking things out
Roseate Spoonbill on the move
Roseate Spoonbill flying straight in
Ibis keeping up with everyone else moving along
Great White Egret looking a bit ragged as it comes in to land
Another Roseate Spoonbill flying in
Roseate Spoonbill rising
Roseate Spoonbill lifting off
White Pelicans reflecting on their day
Daytona Eagles Nest
One of the Bald Eagles keeping an eye on the nest while the other is nearby preening
Bald Eagle peering out from behind the pine needles
Bald Eagle jumping off the nest…
…and then returning in style
Bald Eagle calling out to its mate
Together again at the nest
When you only have one middle “finger” it changes the way scratching your beak looks
If that’s how you feel, talk to the hand lol
Dropping back in to visit with the Eaglettes
Time to fly for a bit
One footed launch
And off we go!
One of the Eaglettes is barely visible peeking over the edge right between the tree on the right and the Eagles head
Flying low through the pines near the nest
Dodging the branches as the Eagle flys free
The Eagle has cleared the trees
Proudly flying high above
Bald Eagle watching some nearby vultures
Nothing gets past the vision of a mighty Bald Eagle
Another successful day enjoying nature and capturing its beauty to share. In the next few weeks, all of the little Eaglettes that have recently hatched will be getting bigger and start peering over the edge to see the world that will soon be theirs. The means a lot more Eagle action will be coming soon!